Archives for Youth

It’s been a year since the United States joined UNICEF and the governments of Ethiopia and India in a bold pledge to end preventable child deaths within a generation. Last week marked the first anniversary of the Child Survival Call to Action, which has since spurred a rejuvenated global movement under the banner “Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed.” In the past year, 174 governments pledged to redouble efforts for children. More than 200 civil-society organizations, 91 faith-based organizations, and 290 faith leaders from 52 countries signed their own pledges of support.

June 14 marked the 1 year anniversary of the Child Survival: Call to Action. Photo credit: John Snow, Inc.

In the Rayburn House Office Building yesterday, members of Congress, PATH, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) flagship Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program, the US Fund for UNICEF, and partner organizations celebrated the global commitment and the progress made so far. We also reminded ourselves of how critical it is to sustain this momentum because, to borrow the words of Anthony Lake, UNICEF’s executive director, “The story of child survival over the past two decades is one of significant progress and unfinished business.”

Progress: dramatic drop in child deaths

The number of children under age five who die each year has dropped from nearly 12 million in 1990 to less than 7 million in 2011. Translated another way, every day 14,000 children who would have otherwise died nowlive to see their fifth birthdays.

Particularly heartening is the progress made in countries that have carried some of the heaviest burden of child mortality. Nine countries, from Bangladesh to Cambodia to Rwanda, reduced their under-five mortality rate by 60 percent or more.

How far these countries have come is a testament to the unwavering commitment and sustained efforts of governments, the public and private sector, donors and nonprofits, civil-society groups, and communities. Other factors underpinning this global progress are impressive gains made in the research and development of medical technologies, improved ways of delivering health services, and bold new thinking in how we overcome roadblocks and speed up innovation for health equity.

Unfinished business: 7 million children

Today, almost two-thirds of child deaths are caused by diseases and conditions that rarely take a child’s life in wealthy countries, including diarrhea, malaria, tetanus, and measles. These deaths are also concentrated in a small number of countries—more than four-fifths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This health inequity is deepened by poverty, violence, political fragility, and social disparity.

As the tremendous progress to date has shown, these are not insurmountable factors—but overcoming them requires ongoing cross-sector collaboration, multi-intervention solutions, and investment in innovative approaches.

Innovating health technologies

I joined PATH as head of its Drug Development program just under a year ago because I saw how global health organizations are driving many of the transformative innovations needed to achieve big goals like the Child Survival Call to Action. For more than 30 years, PATH and our partners have advanced innovative health technologies to protect children from devastating illnesses, make childbirth safer, and provide families with tools for a healthy life. Tools like a vaccine against meningitis A developed specifically for Africa, which has been introduced in ten countries and protected more than 103 million people from epidemic meningitis. Or tools like vaccines for rotavirus and pneumonia, which have been introduced in 14 GAVI-eligible countries, or a feeding technology that ensures that premature babies and those with a cleft palate can access lifesaving breast milk.

On the first anniversary of the Call to Action, I feel even more convinced of the importance of research and development of innovative health technologies to fight against the leading causes of child death. This is why at PATH we are currently working on solutions to tackle the top child killers, like diarrhea, on many fronts. We are developing new drugs to shorten the severity and duration of diarrhea before it becomes fatal, while also working to improve the effectiveness of proven diarrhea therapies like oral rehydration solution. PATH is also working on new vaccines against the leading causes of diarrheal disease, helping countries increase access to existing vaccines for both rotavirus and pneumonia, developing and delivering safe water treatment and storage products, and advancing health devices, such as a user-friendly product design for amoxicillin dispersible tablets to treat pneumonia.

The road ahead

Yesterday’s briefing is a reminder of the critical value of sustained commitment to our children. It is an opportunity to emphasize the power of innovation for child health and get inspired by the momentum behind the current efforts to create effective health solutions.

Among other factors, development of innovative health technologies and new methods to deliver these solutions to the people who need them will continue to drive the current momentum forward toward our common goal of ending preventable child and maternal deaths. Because access to necessary vaccines, drugs, basic medical and maternal care, clean water, and adequate nutrition should not be marked by a line of health inequity.

June 14 marked the 1 year anniversary of the Child Survival: Call to Action. One year ago, leaders committed to ending preventable child deaths. Learn more about A Promise Renewed.

Reading homemade cards? Playing catch with your kids? Grilling in the back yard with the family?

We often take such simple pleasures for granted. But, elsewhere, millions of fathers around the world will struggle to help their children survive and thrive.

In our respective roles, we meet these fathers — in remote villages, bustling cities, and refugee camps. They tell us inspiring stories of their fight to care for their families, but also the heartbreaking accounts of much-loved sons and daughters who have lost their lives to preventable diseases like malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea and HIV.

A mother plays with her infant as she waits outside a health post in Ethiopia. Photo credit: USAID

Every year, 6.9 million children under five die from these and other causes. 19,000 every day. That is equivalent to a stadium like Madison Square Garden filled to capacity.

Even crueler is the geography of fate. A child in sub-Saharan Africa is over 14 times more likely to die before reaching her or his 5th birthday than a child in the United States.

These deaths are more than a tragedy for individual children. They shatter families, diminish communities and hold nations back from progress and prosperity.

But amidst these sad statistics, there is cause for hope. Increasingly, innovations — new products, new technology and new applications of existing technology — help us reach the most disadvantaged communities and the most vulnerable children quickly and inexpensively.

For example, there are groundbreaking long lasting insecticide-treated bed nets that drastically reduce the number of children who die from malaria.

Or the three-drug regimen in one pill daily for pregnant women living with HIV. It protects their own health and helps prevent their babies and partners from HIV infection.

Or new vaccines to prevent pneumonia, diarrhea and cholera.

Thanks to innovations like these, we have an unprecedented opportunity to virtually end preventable child death. And we can do it in a generation.

To reach this goal — one year ago — the Governments of Ethiopia, India and the U.S., with UNICEF’s support, rallied the world behind the Child Survival Call to Action. It inspired a global movement — Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed. Momentum continues to build and, today, 174 countries and over 400 civil society and faith-based organizations have taken up the charge in their own commitments.

In Zambia, First Lady Dr. Christine Kaseba is helping to roll out a plan focused on nutrition and immunization that will save more than 26,000 children each year. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ministry of Health is implementing a plan to save half a million children by 2015. This includes distributing pre-packaged family kits that contain medicines and other supplies to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria, diarrhea and respiratory infections.

Similar initiatives are underway in Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Yemen and beyond, where governments, civil society and the private sector are mobilizing to fulfill the promise to give every child the best possible start in life.

In today’s world, great global ambitions require strong partnerships between the public and private sector. In India, a small pharmaceutical company is developing a new zinc syrup to help get a life-saving treatment for diarrhea into rural communities. Through the Helping Babies Breathe Alliance, private sector entrepreneurs and medical professionals are training and equipping over 100,000 health workers in 54 countries with life-saving tools such as affordable resuscitation equipment. The results are impressive. A study from Tanzania showed that these tools led to a 47 per cent drop in newborn deaths during the first 24 hours of life.

For the first time in history, we have the tools to end preventable child deaths. Now, we need to build the momentum.

Through new partnerships and a relentless focus on results, we can give fathers everywhere the same opportunity that so many of us will have today: to watch our children grow and thrive; to cheer them at a ball game; to nurture their curiosity; to support their dreams and take pride in their achievements. Isn’t that what every father wants for his child?

Co-authored by Rajiv Shah, Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Anthony Lake, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Shivani Cotter is a member of Mom Bloggers for Social Good. Photo credit: Shivani Cotter

This morning, my daughters ate a hearty breakfast. They had eggs, toast and a yogurt each. What do you think women and children in poverty-stricken regions throughout the world ate (or did they)?

I remember reading an article by Anap Shah a few years ago that I have never been able to get out of my head. The heading read, “Today, around 21,000 children died around the world.”

I was shocked! Living in a bubble, I rarely paid attention to how devastating the numbers were (about 1 child dying every 4 seconds)! Although written a few years ago, that article was the catalyst for my quest to learn more about global nutrition and it’s effect on women and children.

Anap Shah caused two conflicting emotions: First, relief that my children didn’t fall into one of those statistics. Second, sick to my stomach that I even felt that way!

Did you know that nearly 165 million children under 5-years-old suffer from undernutrition today? According to the Lancet medical journal, malnutrition contributes to 3.1 million under-five child deaths annually. The numbers are stunning but don’t have to be. The U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative, led by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is dedicated to reducing them. It’s working towards building a better future for mothers and children.

Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, has already improved nutrition and helped people lead healthier lives in Zambia, Guatemala, Tanzania and more. Through Feed the Future in the past year alone, 12 million children have been positively affected — and that is just the beginning. Feed the Future shares their knowledge with the people in poverty-stricken locations and support country-owned programs addressing undernutrition. Their monthly newsletter is filled with information regarding their latest goals and progress.

USAID believes in integrating their approach on dealing with global health and nutrition by forging the right partnerships through initiatives like Feed the Future. USAID, on behalf of the U.S. Government, signed on to the global Nutrition for Growth Compact, and supports the Lancet Series on Maternal and Child Nutrition, which is chock filled with information about the importance of improving nutrition globally. Their goal is to ensure every child is given the best start possible in life.

The first 1,000 days from a woman’s pregnancy to a child’s second birthday are the most critical for a child’s development. By focusing on maternal health and young children, the U.S. Government through USAID and the Feed the Future initiative are striving to cut the death toll for children under 5 years old. Find out more about their goal and ways to help here.

Shivani Cotter is a writer, blogger and social media activist. Through her blog, TrendingMom.com, Shivani is dedicated to teaching others how to live positive and fulfilling lives as well as leaving a lovely legacy for her daughters. Shivani is part of Mom Bloggers for Social Good, a global coalition of 1000+ mom bloggers, in seventeen countries, who spread good news about the amazing work non-profit organizations and NGOs are doing around the world.

Follow @USAID, @USAIDGH and @FeedtheFuture on Twitter and use #GHMatters to join in the conversation about global health issues including #nutrition.

It could have been small town Iowa. Dignitaries arrived. The local sports team stood at attention in orange t-shirts. The drummers set the pace, and the musicians played. The town fathers presided in a ceremony in front of the church next to the school. Young mothers with babies and young children sat near the back. Students stood in rows by class. The parent organization sat together as did the teachers. The children sang. Mooing cattle provided background for a speech by a special boy, the school’s brightest. And they gave us gifts made locally.

But this scene played out in rural Congo (DRC). It was a soccer team with only one ball, and the children wore hand-me-down school uniforms faded from over-washing. The band didn’t march.

After the ceremony the “school board” showed us binders filled with budgetary detail. A capacity-building program sponsored by USAID is helping local leaders, both men and women, take responsibility for their school. They showed us the new latrines that the community had built with a side for girls and a side for boys. Now they need a new school to replace the one washed away by seasonal rains. In the makeshift school children sit on red bricks because there are no desks. Worse, there are no textbooks.

Click for more photos on the OPEQ program.

The problem is sometimes where to start. Should donors like USAID help with infrastructure? Research tells us that if we build more schools closer to where children live, they will feel safer coming to school, especially girls who are at risk of sexual violence. Do we train teachers,especially women, so that parents will feel more comfortable sending their girls to school? Or do we help find a way to alleviate school fees assessed to supplement the meager salaries paid to teachers. Can we do both?

In much the same way we value local control of our schools, local people, especially parents, are learning to have a say in the solutions to these problems. The International Rescue Committee through USAID’s Opportunities for Equitable Access to Basic Education (OPEQ) program is working with parent groups in targeted schools in Katanga province to teach civic involvement. These parents are creating and implementing a school improvement plan. The skills they are learning will carry over into many other aspects of community life.

OPEQ is also training the teachers. Armed with a piece of chalk, a chalk board, and newly acquired skills, these teachers are starting to teach reading by teaching the children of Katanga province in their mother tongue, then transitioning to French, the national language. This is a hard-sell for parents who need convincing that research shows starting with the language children speak is the best way to give them the tools to read in other languages.

A new latrine, teachers eager to show off their skills: small steps by western standards, but as anyone on Main Street knows, the key ingredient is always the parents. It’s a good place to start.

Amanda Pomeroy is a Research & Evaluation Advisor for the SPRING Project. Photo credit: SPRING

Evidence has been mounting to support the hypothesis that maternal undernutrition, as well as in-utero infant and young child undernutrition, are correlated with the risk of developing nutrition related non-communicable diseases (N-RNCDs) later in life. Since 2012, the Strengthening Partnerships, Results, Innovations around Nutrition Globally (SPRING) Project has been mining this evidence base for information that can help program planners and policy makers better conceptualize what this correlation could mean in practical terms for maternal and child nutrition interventions.

SPRING has completed several activities that contribute to this effort. As a first step, we conducted descriptive analyses of secondary data in selected regions and countries to explore where future N-RNCD risks may lie, and to identify how undernutrition programs may need to be tailored to reduce health problems as children and adolescents reach adulthood. Currently SPRING has ten country profiles across Africa and Southeast Asia, and two regional profiles that summarize trends across countries for these two regions.

Based on these descriptive analyses for our selected countries, we found that most nutritionally at-risk countries had several sub-populations with overlapping nutritional burdens (where both under- and over-nutrition were present at the same time within the same household or same individual). While one would expect this to consistently happen in the wealthier, more educated households, this pattern was not uniform across countries, and several countries such as Zambia and Malawi, the less wealthy, rural, and the less educated also saw significant overlap.

While sub-national analyses could not be conducted for pre-NCD and N-RNCD conditions, in the regional profiles we were able to examine trends and prevalence across nations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) type II diabetes mellitus (diabetes) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), along with cancer and other NCDs, account for around one-quarter to one-third of all deaths in SSE Asia (calculated from WHO 2011) and around one-third of all deaths in Africa (calculated from WHO 2011). The data that have been estimated for prevalence of diabetes, show that while growth of diabetes in SSE Asian countries has not been remarkable, it does in fact have one of the highest average prevalence rates of diabetes among adult women, only recently overtaken by the Americas region in 2007. While Africa overall does not have a particularly high rate of diabetes, there has been a steady increase over the ten most recent years of data. The range of diabetes prevalence is quite wide for this region, with the lowest figure being 5.9% in Burundi, and the highest being 14.7% in Cape Verde (2008 estimates). Southern Africa seems to have the highest sub-region burden, with Swaziland and Lesotho both coming in at around 12%. For comparison, the United States had an average prevalence for adult women of 9.1% that year.

The regional profiles also discuss the national trends in calorie availability and child nutritional status, to highlight where future risk may be building. For copies of the regional and country briefs, and to learn more about SPRING, please go visit their website. SPRING will be adding new country profiles as needed, so check back for additional countries.

The country and regional profiles are a useful first step in operationalizing research into usable information for program planning and policy advocacy. As a second step, SPRING completed the first phase of a cost effectiveness simulation model looking at the short and long term effects of undernutrition interventions that are conducted in the first 1,000 days. The goal is to produce a more inclusive understanding of the relative value of nutrition interventions by extending the time frame for estimating benefits, specifically in terms of quantifying the ‘value added’ by their impact on early life genetic programming and any resulting later life course N-RNCD risk. For more information on our simulation model, please see our activities.

Going forward, SPRING will actively work with USAID to identify innovative applications of these resources to country programs. Via improved planning, advocacy, and targeting, this information can contribute to reducing the impacts of NCDs via better nutrition across the globe.

Follow @USAID, @USAIDGH and @FeedtheFuture on Twitter and use #GHMatters to join in the conversation about global health issues including #nutrition.

Julia Gibson is a member of Mom Bloggers for Social Good. Photo credit: Julia Gibson

Growing up as the kid of a car mechanic who worked on flat-rate, we did not have much money. On weeks my dad didn’t turn many hours, we survived on generic macaroni and powdered cheese (4 for $1!) and if we were lucky there was a can of tuna fish to mix in. While that might not have been the most nutritious dinner, I never went to bed hungry. I never went to bed with the gnawing of hunger pains from deep within.

But, millions of children are going to bed hungry around the world.

There are children who have that gnawing hunger pains every single day of their lives.

Hungry children can’t concentrate at school. They don’t care about math and science… they just want food in their bellies.

165 million children under five are under nourished. Poor nutrition can affect a child’s health and learning ability. Poor nutrition in the first 1000 days of a child’s life – from pregnancy to their second birthday – can cause irreversible growth and mental issues. From hunger.

Through USAID and the Feed the Future program, investments are being made in agriculture, health and social protection. Programs like encouraging the growth of orange maize in Zambia, assisting in food security in Guatemala for women and children and other programs are helping teach women how to provide healthier food for themselves and their families.

These aren’t handouts, folks. These are programs to encourage the women of these countries to help themselves. They are given the information and training to grow better crops and to get the food from the plants to the table without any issues. They are being given the potential to succeed. They are being given the knowledge to fill their children’s empty bellies.

Feed the Future is helping women and their families rise above poverty and under nutrition and provide for themselves and their families. These children are being given the chance to succeed at school and in life– because of better nutrition. Last year, they were able to reach 12 million children. Twelve million children went to bed with full tummies because of USAID and Feed the Future.

Whether you love or hate the United States government… you have to be amazed at Feed the Future. The initiative, led by USAID, is comprised of eight other governmental agencies all working together to help others. They are Feeding the Future.

Recently, I saw a sign that said “Childhood shouldn’t hurt.” Childhood shouldn’t hurt– this includes hunger pains. A child should be given every opportunity to succeed. Thankfully, programs like Feed the Future are giving them that opportunity.

Julia Gibson is the mom of boy/girl twins, wife, accountant, scrapbooker, card maker, and nap sneaker. Relatively new to the blogging scene, she recently became involved with social good and is proud to be a member of the Global Team of 200, part of Mom Bloggers for Social Good, a global coalition of 1000+ mom bloggers, in seventeen countries, who spread good news about the amazing work non-profit organizations and NGOs are doing around the world. You can read more of Julia’s blog posts at Mom on the Run x2.

Follow @USAID, @USAIDGH and @FeedtheFuture on Twitter and use #GHMatters to join in the conversation about global health issues including #nutrition.

Nursery school children enjoy a snack of peanut butter on cassava bread in Aranaputa, Guyana. The peanuts they are eating were provided by farmers in the region, supported by the Peanut and Mycotoxins Innovation Lab. Local cottage industries processed the peanuts, turning them into peanut butter for the children to eat at school.

This program was set up in seven villages throughout the region, serving 1,400 school kids one snack per day. Due to the success of the project, this has been expanded to 47 villages and now serves 4,300 children per day.

In this Feed the Future video, narrator Matt Damon discusses efforts to turn the tide against global hunger and increase agricultural production around the world. The video was shown at the “Feed the Future: Partnering With Civil Society” event on September 27, 2012.

This morning, during a global nutrition-focused event co-hosted by Bread for the World Institute and Concern Worldwide, USAID announced its ongoing commitment to work with the U.S. Government’s leadership to reduce undernutrition around the world. The event followed the Nutrition for Growth event in London. During his trip and on behalf of the U.S. Government, Administrator Shah signed the Global Nutrition for Growth Compact which commits donors and private partners to scale up nutrition programs specifically targeted to reduce undernutrition in women and children.

Also last week, Administrator Rajiv Shah and Tjada McKenna, deputy coordinator for Feed the Future, participated in a Google+ Hangout on the role of nutrition in child survival and food security nutrition with representatives from the ONE Campaign, GAIN and 1,000 Days, as well as Candice Kumai, who is a chef, food writer, Iron Chef Judge and nutrition champion for Future Fortified.

Most people have never heard of stunting. It’s one of the least reported, least recognized, least understood issues facing humanity, yet tackling it should be seen as an opportunity both for personal health and national development.

Stunting, caused by chronic undernutrition in children, does not only affect a person’s growth or height. The damage that undernutrition causes to a brain’s cognitive capacity is permanent. It cannot be reversed.

Stunting traps people into a lifelong cycle of poor nutrition, illness, poverty and inequity. Children’s poorer school performance results in future income reductions of up to 22 per cent on average. As adults, they are also at increased risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Despite the challenges, we can and must win the battle against stunting and other forms of undernutrition – and investing in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life shapes the future of nations.

Experts have consistently confirmed that taking action on undernutrition is the single most important, cost-effective means of advancing human well-being. This would accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, would save lives and should be a top global priority.

We know what works and what needs to be done to radically reduce stunting and undernutrition: from micronutrient and vitamin supplements to awareness raising, promoting exclusive breastfeeding and treating severe and acute malnutrition. Efforts should also be linked to improving access to education and safe water, promoting hygiene, preventing and treating diseases, and strengthening social safety nets.

Over the past 20 years alone, the number of stunted children under the age of five in the world has fallen by 88 million – from 40 to 26 per cent, or a one-third reduction.

However, a brand new Lancet series on nutrition from 6 June 2013 shows that progress is not fast enough. What is needed now is strong, global commitment and leadership to accelerate efforts.

UNICEF is a proud partner in the major global initiative called the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement, which is bringing much needed focus and investment for nutrition in a number of countries. Through the SUN country network, government focal points from each of the 40 countries involved share experiences, seek advice and provide each other with assistance, analyses of progress and lessons learned.

Broader efforts to address child survival are also galvanizing partnerships. Governments including those of Ethiopia, India and the U.S. have thrown their weight behind the A Promise Renewed movement, which – with supported by UNICEF – is uniting governments, civil society, faith based leaders and private sector around the clear and compelling goal: to end preventable child deaths and give every last child the best possible start in life.

No child, no mother, no country should ever have to suffer the injustice of a lack of nutrition in the 21st century. We cannot stand by and allow a child to be condemned to a life of deprivation – especially when we know how to prevent it.

For updates on what the United States is doing to improve nutrition, follow the hashtags #Nutrition4Growth and #GHmatters on Twitter.

A silent crisis is happening right now. It affects 165 million children globally, robbing them of the future they deserve and leading to more child deaths every year than any other disease. In a world of plentiful, nutritious foods and advanced science, this is unacceptable.

We can do better. And we can do it together.

At a landmark event in London this weekend, global government, business, and civil society leaders will join together to commit to a different future — one in which every child benefits from the nutrition needed to grow and thrive.

Administrator Shah at the Nutrition for Growth event in London. Photo credit: USAID

As the head of USAID – and as a parent of young children – I am privileged to show the United States’ support for global nutrition at the Nutrition for Growth event today. This event’s global reach reflects growing recognition that the challenge of undernutrition is solvable, but requires a new approach.

To proactively address the root causes of hunger and undernutrition and get the most out of every development dollar invested, we cannot treat nutrition, global health, and food security as isolated priorities. We must integrate our approach across sectors, forging high-impact partnerships and driving game-changing innovation from farms to markets to tables.

Feed the Future is doing just that, working with businesses, local communities, farmers’ organizations, and country leaders to not only reduce poverty and hunger but undernutrition too. Last year, we reached 12 million children through nutrition programs that reduced anemia, supported community gardens, and treated malnutrition.

This focus reflects the United States’ long history as the global leader in nutrition, from providing emergency food aid during crises to helping farmers and their families grow and consume more nutritious foods.

In fact, we have nearly doubled nutrition-specific funding through our global health programs and we have tripled agriculture funding since 2008, targeting our investments where we can deliver meaningful impact. We’ve also been a strong supporter of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, which funds country priorities in agricultural development and nutrition.

Today, I was pleased to announce that the U.S. Government is providing more than $1 billion for nutrition-specific interventions and nearly $9 billion on nutrition-sensitive activities over fiscal years 2012-2014.

These investments support and accelerate trends in stunting reduction; ultimately to reduce stunting by 20 percent over five years in the areas where we work through Feed the Future, translating into 2 million fewer stunted children.

Integrating and expanding nutrition activities into our agricultural development programs makes good sense and is effective, as many of our civil society partners demonstrate every day in the field. And a growing body of research and knowledge, including the recently released The Lancet Series on Maternal and Child Nutrition, provides strong evidence that improving nutrition is one of the best ways to achieve lasting progress in development.

Ensuring that a child receives adequate nutrition, particularly in the critical 1,000-day window from a woman’s pregnancy to her child’s second birthday, can yield dividends for a lifetime as a well-nourished child will perform better in school, more effectively fight off disease, and even earn more as an adult. Nutrition is central to ending preventable child death.

The evidence is also clear that governments can’t do this alone.

Momentum for improving nutrition is strong, in large part thanks to our civil society partners who have worked tirelessly to mobilize support around the world behind the evidence that nutrition matters. Just today a coalition of U.S. NGOs pledged $750 million over five years in private, nongovernment funds for nutrition.

In a world where private sector investment flows vastly outpace official assistance, nations will only achieve development in partnership with a vibrant and transparent private sector as well. That is the mission behind the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.

In just one year, the New Alliance has grown into a $3.75 billion public-private partnership that builds on country investment plans developed by African countries through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program and works to integrate the principles of the Scaling Up Nutrition movement, which recognizes the meaningful impact of nutrition on all aspects of society—from health to agriculture to long-term growth and stability.

During its presidency of the G-8 this year, the United Kingdom has worked hard to carry the New Alliance forward, keeping momentum strong for this groundbreaking partnership.

Ending extreme poverty by advancing nutrition from farms to markets to tables is the vision that brings business, development, and civil society representatives together this weekend.

It’s also what inspires us to work together to ensure that every child has a healthy start and every nation a brighter future.

For updates on the Nutrition for Growth event this weekend and what the United States is doing to improve nutrition, follow the hashtags #Nutrition4Growth and #GHmatters on Twitter.